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Electronic Files

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The resources relating to electronic files have been organized by subcategories:

  • Cloud Computing
  • E-Discovery
  • Metadata
  • Virtual Law Office
  • Electronic Files (General)

Cloud computing

Cloud computing refers to applications and services offered over the Internet. These services are offered from data centers all over the world, which collectively are referred to as the "cloud." Examples of cloud computing include online backup services, social networking services, personal data services, and online applications.

Ethics Opinions

  • Connecticut Informal Opinion 2013-07: Cloud Computing
  • Florida Bar Ethics Opinion 12-3: Cloud Computing
  • Maine Ethics Opinion 207: The Ethics of Cloud Computing and Storage
  • Massachusetts Ethics Opinion 12-03 (2012): Google docs and cloud computing
  • New Hampshire Ethics Opinion 2012-13/4: The Use of Cloud Computing in the Practice of Law
  • New York State Bar Association Ethics Opinion 842 (2010): Using an outside online storage provider to store client confidential information
  • Oregon State Bar Formal Opinion 2011-188: Information Relating to the Representation of a Client: Third-Party Electronic Storage of Client Materials
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association Formal Ethics Opinion 2011-200: Ethical Obligations for Attorneys Using Cloud Computing / Software as a Service while Fulfilling the Duties of Confidentiality and Preservation of Client Property
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association Formal Ethics Opinion 2020-300: Ethical Obligations for Lawyers Working Remotely
  • Washington State Bar Ethics Opinion 2215 (2012): Cloud Computing
  • Cloud Ethics Opinions Around the U.S., Comparison Table by the ABA Law Practice Management Section

Articles

  • Guidelines for the Use of Cloud Computing in Law Practice, January 2011, eLawyering Task Force, Law Practice Management Section, American Bar Association

Online participatory MCLE programs

  • Cloud Computing: A Primer on Technical & Legal Ethics, Solo & Small Firm Section (1.5 / 1.0 Ethics)
  • The Cloud: Secure? Yes. Ethical? Not so FAST!, Law Practice Management & Technology Section (1.0)

E-Discovery

Electronic discovery (sometimes known as e-discovery, ediscovery, eDiscovery, or e-Discovery) is the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting, and producing electronically stored information (ESI) in response to a request for production in a lawsuit or investigation. ESI includes, but is not limited to, emails, documents, presentations, databases, voicemail, audio and video files, social media, and websites.

Ethics Opinions

  • CAL 2015-193: ESI and Discovery Requests
  • D.C. Bar Ethics Opinion 362 (2012): Nonlawyer Ownership of Discovery Service Vendors

Articles

  • Lawyer's 'Inadvertent' E-Discovery Failures Led to Wells Fargo Data Breach, New York Law Journal, July 2017, Christine Simmons
  • Ethics Opinion: Assess risks before releasing electronic files, California Bar Journal, August 2015, Amy Yarbrough
  • How to ethically handle confidential information received inadvertently, California Bar Journal, May 2015, Richard Egger
  • The Top 10 eDiscovery Developments of 2014 in the Mountain West and California, The National Law Review, February 2015
  • Top 5 Ethical Issues in E-Discovery, 2012, ABA Labor & Employment Law Section
  • E-Discovery Pocket Guide, August 2008, State Bar Litigation Section

Online participatory MCLE programs

  • eDiscovery and Ethics: What Attorneys (and Clients) Need to Know, Law Practice Management & Technology Section (1.0 / 0.5 Ethics)
  • Ethical Minefields and eDiscovery: A Perfect Match, Labor & Employment Law Section (1.5)
  • Ethics & eDiscovery, Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section (0.75)
  • Maintaining Confidences and Competence in an ESI World, Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (1.5)

Metadata

Metadata describes other data. It provides information about a certain item's content. For example, an image may include metadata that describes how large the picture is, the color depth, the image resolution, when the image was created, and other data. A text document's metadata may contain information about how long the document is, who the author is when the document was written, and a short summary of the document. Web pages often include metadata in the form of meta tags.

Ethics Opinions

  • Oregon State Bar Formal Opinion 2011-187: Competency: Disclosure of Metadata
  • Metadata Ethics Opinions Around the U.S., Comparison Table by the ABA Law Practice Management Section

Articles

  • Metadata: To Scrub or, February 2008, Robert Brownstone

Online participatory MCLE programs

  • Metadata Scrubbing and Mining - Ethics, Technology & Risk-Management, Law Practice Management & Technology Section (1.0)

Virtual law office

A virtual law firm is a legal practice that does not have a bricks-and-mortar office, but operates from the homes or satellite offices of its lawyers, usually delivering services to clients at a distance using technological means of communication.

Ethics Opinions

  • CAL 2012-184: Virtual Law Office
  • ABA Formal Opinion 498: Virtual Practice
  • Florida Bar Ethics Opinion 00-4: Legal Services over the Internet
  • New York City Bar Formal Opinion 2014-2: Use of Virtual Law Office by New York Attorneys
  • New York State Bar Association Formal Ethics Opinion 1025: Virtual law office; Advertising principal law office address
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association Formal Ethics Opinion 2020-300: Ethical Obligations for Lawyers Working Remotely
  • Virginia State Bar Legal Ethics Opinion 1872 (2013): Virtual Law Office and Use of Executive Office Suites

Articles

  • Lawyers’ definitions of virtual practice vary, but not when it comes to finding success, ABA Journal, April 2014, G.M. Filisko
  • Home Is Where the Office Is: Ethical Implications of the Virtual Office, March 2014, Section of Litigation, American Bar Association

Online participatory MCLE programs

  • Ethics on the Outside: Electronic Communication and Professional Responsibility - Can They Coexist? Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (1.5)
  • The Future of Work: The Virtual Workplace, Law Practice Management & Technology Section (1.25 / 0 Ethics)

Electronic files (General)

Below are opinions, articles, and MCLE programs that include information on a variety of topics related to electronic files.

Ethics Opinions

  • CAL 2007-174: Electronic Client Files
  • CAL 2010-179: Confidentiality and Technology
  • OCBA 2005-01: File Transfer and Work Product Rules Applicable to Electronic Files
  • ABA Formal Opinion 483: Lawyers’ Obligations After an Electronic Data Breach or Cyberattack
  • ABA Formal Opinion 498: Virtual Practice
  • Alaska Bar Association 2016-1: May a Lawyer Surreptitiously Track Emails and Other Documents Sent to Opposing Counsel
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association Formal Ethics Opinion 2020-300: Ethical Obligations for Lawyers Working Remotely

Articles

  • Your Mobile is Not Just a Phone - It's a Handheld Mini-Computer Subject to Attack, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP Legal Updates, October 2018
  • Advice for road warriors: Navigating airport security with client secrets intact, California Bar Journal, November 2017, Scott Garner
  • Law firms must manage cybersecurity risks, ABA Journal, March 2017, Julie Sobowale
  • How to ethically handle confidential information received inadvertently, California Bar Journal, May 2015, Richard Egger
  • Ethics and Cybersecurity: Obligations to Protect Client Data, American Bar Association, March 2015 Section of Labor and Employment Law
  • Lawyer struggle to reconcile new technology with traditional ethics rules, ABA Journal, November 2014, James Podgers
  • Basic Measures Law Firms Can Take to Improve Cybersecurity, Los Angeles Lawyer, October 2014, Steven G. Mehta and Adam Ashby
  • NSA surveillance policies raise questions about the viability of the attorney-client privilege, ABA Journal, September 2014, David L. Hudson Jr.
  • You don't need perfect tech know-how for ethics' sake--but a reasonable grasp is essential, ABA Journal, August 2014, James Podgers
  • Federal Court Rules E-Mails Are Personal Data Under California Song-Beverly Act, October 2013, Bloomberg BNA
  • The Green Law Office: Paperless Practice and Ethical Rules, March 2012, Wendy Patrick
  • Ethical Rules Require Reasonable Care When Using Technology in the Practice of Law, Los Angeles County Bar Association - County Bar Update, February 2012, Wendy Wen Yun Chang
  • Mrs. Smith called; she wants her file..., February 2012, Wendy Patrick
  • State Bar Ethics Opinions on Internet and Technology Use, The Bottom Line, LPMT, December 2011, Andrew Tuft
  • You saw what?  Inadvertent disclosure and the attorney-client privilege, August 2011, Wendy Patrick

Online participatory MCLE programs

  • 2011: Warp Speed Kills -- Ethics and Electronic Information, Law Practice Management & Technology Section (1.0)
  • Electronic Ethics, Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (1.0)
  • Ethics on the Outside: Electronic Communication and Professional Responsibility - Can They Coexist?, Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (1.5)
  • Issues Arising From the Use of Technology and the Web, Office of Professional Competence and the American Inns of Courts (1.5)
  • They See You When You're Sleeping: Attorney Privacy, Confidentiality and Security, State Bar Solo Summit (1.0)
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